Athena's Daughter

by Juli Page Morgan

  Grinning, Athena shook her head. “That’s good to know.”

  “But speaking of things I can give her…” All amusement fled from his expression. “Tell me more about the school her cousins go to. She talked a lot about that today.”

  “Oh, that.” One shoulder lifted in a slight shrug. “It’s a private school that just started last year, but it’s really good. Andi’s told me a lot about it, and I know Calvin and Carrie are really happy there.”

  Derek’s voice was soft. “Would you like for Elizabeth to go there?”

  Uncomfortable, she reached down and fiddled with the strings of her shoe. “Well, yeah. It’s just that I can’t afford something like that.”

  “I can. Athena, this is something I can do for her. And if you think this is a good school and that it would be good for her to go there, I’ll pay for it.”

  “It’s not just the tuition, though. They wear uniforms, and there are extra fees for things, and…”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he stated with finality. “If this is the best school for Elizabeth, then I don’t mind paying for it.”

  “I know. It’s just that I’ve been doing it on my own for so long that it’s a little difficult to accept any help.”

  “It’s not help, angel. It’s part of my responsibility as her parent.”

  Athena nodded at his words, and repressed a shiver at what she knew had to be an unintentional slip in using the endearment he’d called her when they were together. On the one hand, it was nice to know he felt comfortable enough with her again for it to slip out, but on the other, it brought up too many emotions in Athena that she knew she shouldn’t be feeling. Pushing them aside, she forced a smile.

  “I know. And I promise to get over myself about it.”

  His answering laugh helped to dissolve some of her tension, and her shoulders relaxed.

  “I’ll hold you to it,” he said. “So what should we do now? Hire an attorney?”

  Nose wrinkled in confusion, Athena looked at him. “I guess so. I mean, we’ll probably need one anyway to get Elizabeth’s name changed and put your name on her birth certificate and everything. I hadn’t really thought about all that.”

  Derek sighed. “Yeah, it’s a bitch to have to bring in lawyers, but I guess it’s best to have it all laid out legally and such.” One hand rose to cover a yawn. “Sorry about that.” He chuckled. “I didn’t sleep well last night. Too nervous about seeing her. And I have to admit that she exhausted me on that playground today. She definitely has more energy than I do.”

  A genuine laugh shook Athena’s shoulders. “She never has lacked for energy.” She uncurled her leg and got to her feet. “I’ll call a cab for you so you can go back to the motel and get some rest.”

  “Ah, yes. Rest sounds good.” Derek leaned his head back against the couch again, and closed his eyes. “I think I’ll probably sleep like a baby tonight.”

  “Try not to wet the bed,” she joked. She padded into the kitchen to get the phone book, but her hand paused as she reached for it. Instead of the directory in its accustomed place on the counter, she saw only bare Formica. Even the pen and pad of paper she kept there was missing. She glanced around the room with a perplexed frown before she remembered taking everything into her bedroom earlier in the week to look up names of local realtors.

  After a search of her room, she at last located the phone book halfway under her bed. The paper and pen were still nowhere in sight, but she didn’t need those to call a cab for Derek. She returned to the living room, but came to a halt just inside the doorway, her apology for taking so long dying unspoken on her lips.

  He hadn’t moved, was still sitting with his feet propped on the table, hands clasped over his midsection, eyes closed. But his head was tilted to one side, and his face was slack with sleep. It appeared his exhaustion had caught up with him.

  Athena put the now unnecessary phone book on top of the television, and returned to her room to fetch her second pillow and an extra blanket. Trying to wake him up would involve more effort than she was willing to exert, and it would probably wake Elizabeth, too. Better to just let him sleep on the couch. As she pulled the blanket from the top shelf of her closet, she ignored the insistent inner voice that was rejoicing because Derek was staying at her apartment and would be there in the morning. It wasn’t like he’d chosen to stay there; and even if he did, it would be because of Elizabeth, and not because of any overwhelming desire to be close to her.

  Back in the living room, she removed his shoes before easing him into a reclining position and covering his legs with the blanket, and then stood staring down at him with her hands knotted together in front of her.

  “Look at you,” she whispered. “Lying there with your hair spread out over my pillow, and your face all quiet and beautiful with sleep. Do you know how many mornings I woke up and just watched you when you looked like this? Not fair, Derek.” Her eyes traveled down the length of his body. “And why do you have to lie like that, in the perfect position for my body to spoon right up against yours? I can almost feel you next to me. But if you woke up, you’d probably dump me in the floor. I’m going to get my heart broken all over again, aren’t I?”

  Before she could stop herself, she bent over and pressed her lips to the top of his head, his hair silky and soft under her mouth, and the barest hint of his sandalwood cologne tickling her nose. She stood up and shook her head at his sleeping form.

  “Yep,” she said. “One broken heart, coming right up.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  As the week went by, Athena found herself battling a demon – a green-eyed demon, to be precise. And, appalling as it was, she was jealous of her own child. She was sure her “Worst Mother of the Year” award would be showing up in her mailbox at any time.

  While she was overjoyed that Derek and Elizabeth had fallen into instant love with each other, it was still torture that she wasn’t included in Derek’s adoration. It didn’t help that the man was underfoot all the time; in the apartment with Elizabeth every afternoon when Athena returned home from work, eating supper with them in the kitchen each evening, assisting with Elizabeth’s bath, and then reading bedtime stories to the little girl every night. Then, when Elizabeth was tucked into bed, he’d call a cab, give Athena a cheery wave, and leave.

  Yes, he was friendly. Yes, he bent over backward to make things easier for Athena by helping with the dishes and such. But all his attention and devotion was directed at his daughter, with nothing for Athena except a courtesy he’d probably show to a hired nanny. And it made her mad.

  Those brief, radiant weeks with Derek brought home with clarity how much she wanted something apart from just being Elizabeth’s mother. She wanted to be desired, valued, loved. The side of Derek she was seeing was different from the devil-may-care rock star she’d been with on the road. This was the Derek she knew in London, the one she’d fallen for so hard. The one who got down on one knee and presented her with a purple string tied into a ring and asked her to be his wife. And though Athena knew she would never again be the total center of his universe the way she was then, she wanted him to at least acknowledge that she was more than just the womb that incubated his child. Damn it, there had to still be some feelings there somewhere! God knows, she still had them.

  Bitchy and aggravated by another night of broken sleep, she threw back the covers and stomped into the kitchen. She thumbed on the switch to the Mr. Coffee that Andi and Walt gave her for Christmas, and glared at it until a thin stream of coffee started to pour into the carafe.

  Though she hadn’t looked into a mirror, she knew the dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced, and could feel lines etching into the skin between her eyes. If she didn’t get a good night’s rest soon, she’d end up looking like her Great-Grandma Hill when she died at the age of ninety-eight. But, no; she woke up ten times a night from dreams of Derek, woke with her heart pounding and her panties moist, the feel of his hands and lips on her skin still lingering l
ike a sweet refrain.

  “Is this my punishment?” she demanded of the coffee maker. “Because I didn’t tell him about the baby, am I going to have to go through life having him right in my face every day but never have him touch me or love me again? Because if that’s the case, I have to say I think it’s excessive and cruel. Yeah, I messed up big time, but I didn’t commit murder or anything.”

  The machine’s only answer was to belch out a gust of steam as the coffee dribbled its way into the carafe. With an inarticulate groan, Athena turned away and went into the living room to open the windows. It was going to be another warm day, and God knows she didn’t need any extra heat in her life. What she needed was a cold shower or ten, but she wasn’t even sure that would do any good.

  Actually, what she needed was a day when she didn’t see Derek at all, but that wasn’t going to happen, either. Instead of an uninterrupted Sunday where she could drive around and do a little house-hunting, Derek indicated he was going to show up right after lunch with a big surprise for Elizabeth. Wonderful. But if he kept insisting on being around every stinking day, Athena was afraid she might break and give him the surprise.

  For a moment, she stood at the window and wondered what would happen if she did jump him. Just wait until Elizabeth was out of the room, and then press against him. Tight.

  Athena sucked down hard on her lower lip as she imagined the surprise on his face that would turn into the sexy, predatory expression he got when aroused. His hands would slide up her back as she wrapped herself around him and ran her hands across his smooth chest. She wasn’t sure just when he’d lose the shirt, but she wasn’t focused on logistics, just the delicious outcome. Their lips would meet, a demanding kiss full of pent-up desire and need. Lower bodies would press together, and she would know exactly how much he wanted her by the rock hard evidence in his jeans. Then he would push her against the wall, and…

  An especially loud gurgle from the coffee maker brought her out of her reverie and into reality. And the reality was that he was more likely to freeze in disbelief before stepping away from her. And that would destroy her.

  She trudged back into the kitchen, and poured a cup of coffee. If she was going to have to spend yet another day being ignored by the man she loved while watching him laugh and enjoy himself while not wanting her the way she wanted him, she would need to over-caffeinate to get through it.

  Having Derek back made her more miserable than she’d been in her entire life.

  *****

  The minute Derek told her to drive to Chickasaw Gardens, dread settled over Athena as heavy and oppressive as a wool coat in August. It was no secret that he planned to buy a home in Memphis so he could be close to Elizabeth, but she assumed he’d want one of the newer, fancier homes in Germantown, and not the older charm of Chickasaw Gardens. She and Elizabeth spent many a Sunday afternoon driving through the tree-lined streets playing “What if?” as they checked out the lovely, rambling homes and the quiet, placid lake, both of them knowing that living there was way beyond their means. If Derek bought a home there it would just add to Athena’s sense of failure.

  “Turn here,” he said, indicating Cherokee Drive. “And then park at the house with the realtor’s sign out front.”

  Of course it would be that house, the one Elizabeth told him was her favorite when they drove around on Tuesday showing Derek the things about Memphis Elizabeth loved best. The only difference was that the realtor’s sign now sported a large SOLD sticker across its surface.

  The steering column on the Bug squealed as Athena made the turn into the driveway, and she wondered if the neighbors would call the police to report low class people had invaded and were clearly up to no good.

  The house sat peacefully on a large, landscaped lot, its gray bricks exuding a quiet elegance and comfort. Athena felt as out of place sitting in the driveway as she would at a black-tie dinner for the mayor of Shelby County.

  “Well, do you like my new house?” Derek asked Elizabeth who was hanging over the back of his seat.

  The little girl wriggled with delight. “Is that where you’re going to live, Daddy?”

  “Yes, it is.” Derek opened the car door and climbed out, taking Elizabeth’s hand to assist her exit. “And it’s also where you and your mum are going to live.”

  “What?” Athena exploded, her voice overridden by Elizabeth’s squeal of joy as she dashed to the front porch, followed by her scheming, manipulative, sneaky prick of a father.

  Athena scrambled to get out of the car, and slammed the door with such force that flakes of rust fell from the VW like redneck snowflakes. By the time she reached the gable-covered front door, Derek and Elizabeth were already inside the house, Elizabeth’s exclamations echoing off the hardwood floors and bare walls.

  Anger buzzed in Athena’s head like killer bees, and she charged through the small entryway and into a spacious living room. Damn it, there was a fireplace, just like she’d always wanted. And gorgeous, multi-paned windows overlooking the front yard, and a lovely arched doorway leading to…Oh, dear God, look at that kitchen!

  Terra cotta tile floors with an intricate, inlaid pattern made the kitchen seem large and welcoming, and through an arched pass-through Athena saw Elizabeth tearing around an enormous den floored with the same tiles. And, yes, there was another fireplace, this one set in a wall of built-in bookcases lining one wall of the room. Through French doors she could see a brick patio, and beyond that an in-ground pool surrounded by a black wrought-iron fence. Another building built in the style of the house sat beyond the pool, all of it shaded by large, mature trees.

  Ignoring her mother’s frozen figure, Elizabeth tore past at top speed headed for only God knew where. Athena rushed after her, determined to nip things in the bud before it got any worse. She followed Elizabeth’s voice through the house, and found her in a massive bedroom with Derek.

  “Is this my room?” Elizabeth asked, bouncing up and down with excitement.

  “No, munchkin,” he chuckled. “This is your mum’s bedroom and bath. Yours is upstairs. And I think it’s already even painted pink.”

  “Pink!” With a shriek, Elizabeth bolted from the room. Derek started to follow, but Athena snagged the sleeve of his tan linen shirt.

  “Wait just one minute there, mister.”

  He turned to her, blue eyes sparkling. “Have you seen your closet?”

  “It’s not my closet,” she declared. “Derek…”

  Ignoring her protests, he took her by the hand and led her toward a set of double doors on one side of the large room. Athena followed like a robot. It was the first time he’d touched her since that confusing moment in his motel room, and she couldn’t muster up the willpower to pull away. It didn’t help that he looked like he got up that morning and thought, “How can I dress to drive Athena completely crazy today?”

  There were buttons halfway down his shirt, but he hadn’t bothered to do them up, and the smooth, brown chest she’d fantasized about only that morning was on full display under an assortment of necklaces only a rock star could pull off and still look so masculine other men would just wilt and admit defeat. The sleeves were rolled up almost to his elbows, exposing his forearms, and around one wrist he wore a wide leather cuff, the sight of which turned Athena to mush for some unfathomable reason. His jeans fit like they were tailored for him, saggy in all the right spots, but still tight enough to drive her wild, and his lean waist was encircled by a brown leather belt that just begged to be removed.

  As they entered a bathroom, she caught sight of his face in the mirror and started to melt like a snow cone. How the hell could a thin moustache and beard look so damn good? Her peripheral vision noted a separate tub and shower, and all she could think was how much she wanted to yank him into that shower, turn on the water and get him as wet as she already was.

  None of her tearing lust appeared to register on Derek’s radar, and he continued through the bathroom and flung open yet another door.

 
; “There,” he said, gesturing in front of him. “How about that?”

  With wide eyes Athena beheld a closet bigger than her bedroom in the apartment. Her clothes wouldn’t even take up one-sixteenth of the available space, and that accessories island in the middle would be completely wasted on her two necklaces and one wristwatch. She only came out of her dazzled state when he let go of her hand.

  “Derek, are you completely out of your mind?”

  His brows drew together in a confused frown. “You don’t like it?”

  “That’s beside the point. But we can’t just…I mean, it’s not…” She cursed her stuttering tongue, and took a deep breath. “Derek, we can’t all live here together. That’s just not realistic.”

  Sudden understanding dawned on his face, and he shook his head. “You’re right, love. That would be too confusing for Elizabeth. But there’s a guest house on the back of the property beyond the pool. That’s where I’m going to live.”

  Confusing for Elizabeth? What about torture for Elizabeth’s mother? “No,” she burst out. “I can’t let you buy a house and then have to live in the guest house. For that matter, I can’t live in your house anyway.”

  “I bought the house for Elizabeth to live in. And she can’t very well live here without you, can she?”

  Athena dismissed his reasonable tone. “Derek, this is nuts. I cannot live in your house.”

  To her irritation, he only looked amused at her statement. He leaned a shoulder against the wall and folded his arms across his chest, bringing that leather cuff into view. Damn it. Soft hair spilled down over his collar as he tilted his head. “And why not?”

  “Because it’s weird, that’s why not. And there’s no way I can afford something like this.”

  “You don’t have to. I bought it, not you.” He leaned forward to stop her impending outburst. “We talked about this the other night, remember? About how you didn’t have to do things by yourself anymore.”